The Descent of Man: Grayson Perry review

The Descent of Man

By Grayson Perry

Rating: 4 Star

The Descent of Man is quite different from the number of Crime, Thriller, and Fantasy novels I have been mainly reading lately.

In this book, Perry explores the current state of masculinity and how various factors affect it. 

The Mangle Street Murders (The Gower Street Detective #1): M.R.C. Kasasian review

The Mangle Street Murders (The Gower Street Detective #1)

by M.R.C. Kasasian

Rating: 3.5 Star

In the Mangle Street Murders, we are thrown into a dirty, horse-filled, smoky, and crime-ridden 1882 London and the unlikely duo of Sidney Grice, (London's most famous detective) and March Middleton (who has the dubious pleasure of having Grice as her legal guardian).

Bloodlines: Lynn Lipinski review

Bloodlines

Lynn Lipinski review

Rating: 3.5 Star

After being fired from his job at the zoo of Tulsa, recovering alcoholic Zane Clearwater drowns his sorrow with too much alcohol and cough syrup.

When he awakes, Zane has no memory of the previous evening and then learns that his mother has just been killed in a fire at their home.

Time Travelling with a Hamster: Ross Welford

Time Travelling with a Hamster

by Ross Welford

Rating: 5 Star

'Time Travelling with a Hamster' tells the story of Al Chaudhury, who lives with his Mum, step-dad Steve and stepsister, as well as his hamster Alan Shearer.

On his 12th birthday Al receives a letter from his deceased father. His dad needs his help, and Al learns that he has a chance of saving his Dad's life by using a time-travel machine that his father invented before passing away.

The One In A Million Boy: Monica Wood review

The One In A Million Boy

by Monica Wood

Rating: 4 Star

This is a story of friendship between an 11 year old scout and a 104 year old lady called Miss Ona Vitkus, set in the United States.

The "boy" as Miss Viktus refers to him during the first few chapters has been assigned to help her with household chores as part of his scout work. During these weekly visits he tops up her bird feeders, tidies the lawn, and afterwards they eat cookies and talk.

Hunter: Mercedes Lackey book review

Hunter

by Mercedes Lackey

Rating: 3 Star

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, the reviews on this book all seem to come down firmly in either the love or hate category. After careful consideration, I'm somewhere in the middle with my 3 star rating.

The Final Minute: Simon Kernick Review

The Final Minute

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fast paced action thriller, with a high body count and an intriguing plotline.

The main character Matt Barron has amnesia and we follow him as he races against time trying to restore his memory so that he can piece his life back together. Matt's efforts to do this are hampered by the fact that several thugs and hitmen keep kidnapping and then torturing him to find out "where the bodies are".

Without any memory of his friends or family, Matt's only hope is to convince a private detective called Tina Boyd to help him and both expose the people who are after him and help get his life back.

I didn't realise when I started reading this novel that it was part of a series. I would recommend reading Simon Kernick's earlier books if possible before getting to this one as I think it would help to undestand the character's actions better.

However, I really enjoyed following the fast paced novel of this story and look forward to reading more of Simon Kernick's work.

The Devil Will Come: Glenn Cooper - Review

The Devil Will Come 

This is the second Glenn Cooper novel that I've read and I have really enjoyed them both.

"The Devil Will Come" is an archaeological and religious thriller which pits the Church against a secretive organisation known as the "Lemures" who are intent on its destruction. 

When the current pope dies and the Vatican begins the process of appointing a new Pontif, the Lemures set in motion an evil plan to fulfil an ancient prophecy and destory their arch enemy once and for all.

Given that the novel is set largely in Rome and the Vatican, and that the main character Elizabetta Celestino is a Nun, the theme of religion does flow throughout the plot, but this is first and foremost a thriller set within a religious context.

I liked the main character Elizabetta Celestino and thought she was a well rounded and strong character. Elizabetta, a former archaeology student turned Nun who uses her skills as a scientist and her access to the Vatican archives to expose the Lemures conspiracy before it is too late.

Glenn Cooper has weaved together a conspiracy that spans centuries in this novel. If you enjoyed Dan Brown's "Robert Langdon" novels or similar works then I'd definitely recommend this.

I obtained a preview version of this novel for review viahttp://www.netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

The Glittering World: Robert Levy - Review

The Glittering World

I just wanted to share my review of this novel by Robert Levy. I'd really recommend it if you like fantasy authors such as Neil Gaiman or Terry Brooks.

The Glittering World novel starts with a group of friends Michael Whitley (Blue), Elisa, Jason and Gabe visiting the Starling Cove Friendship Colony in Canada to visit a house that Blue's recently deceased Grandmother bequeathed him.

 As we get to know each of the characters we find out that Blue's upbringing in the Starling Cove Friendship Colony has some startling secrets to reveal. As we learn more about the character's history, and the history of the cove, Robert Levy introduces us to a richly described fantasy world that promises to answer some of the questions regarding Blue's past. Some reviewers mentioned that they disliked the structure of this novel - (each main section is told from a specific character's viewpoint) but I thought it worked really well.

If you have a favourite character though it does mean that you have to wait a bit to hear from them. I really enjoyed The Glittering World by Robert Levy and look forward to future works from him.

I rated this novel 4 out of 5. Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, my opinions are my own.

Glittering World on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Glittering-World-Robert-Levy/dp/1476774528

Glittering World on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22609606-the-glittering-world

Great Zoo of China: Matthew Reilly - Review

Great Zoo of China

Public review posted for Great Zoo of China on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Great-China-Matthew-Reilly/dp/1476749558/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

I rated this book as 4 Stars

After years of secret research, top reptile expert Dr Cassandra Jane Cameron "CJ" and her brother Hamish, along with selected other VIP guests, are invited by the Chinese Government to witness the grand unveiling of "The Great Zoo of China" - which turns out to actually be the "The Great Dragon Zoo of China".

Things all start well during the tour. The Chinese have constructed an amazing purpose built home to show the dragons off to the world, but things soon go awry (as you may likely have anticipated), and it's down to CJ and company, (but mainly CJ) to save the day.

This novel is action-packed throughout. I finished it in a couple of days.

I was really impressed by the level of detail and planning that Matthew Reilly puts into the story. The book is complete with detailed schematics and layouts that are relevant for each chapter and the description of the various Dragon clans/species is vivid and detailed.

This is firmly an action-genre novel so don't expect huge amounts of characterisation or plot-twisting surprises.

I'd also recommend putting your "suspension of disbelief" setting up to the maximum, otherwise it might interrupt your enjoyment of the story. For me, one description of a 747-sized Dragon throwing a building at its captor stretched my imagination right to the limit. However, I moved on through that and still really enjoyed the story.

An enjoyable, fast paced action novel.

I received a free advanced reader copy of this book from the Publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.